A joint military operation in Katsina/Zamfara border forest on Saturday led to the rescue of five abducted residents and left several bandits dead.
The Secretary to the Government of Katsina State, Mustapha Inuwa, who confirmed the development while receiving the rescued kidnapped victims from representative of the Commander, 17th Brigade, Katsina, said the coordinated operation was simultaneously carried out by the joint ground forces of the 17th Brigade and the Air force from Katsina and those in Zamfara axis.
He said the Joint military action, which started in the morning and lasted in the evening, had successfully led to the destruction of the bandits camps and recorded several casualties on their side.
“Some of the bandits fled and abandoned their kidnapped victims who became stranded and finally ran into the hands of the soldiers,” he stated.
The SSG commended the troops for their gallant operation and called on the leadership to sustain the tempo.
The five rescued persons include 2 males: Amadu Rufa’i, 45years and Habibu Yakubu, 25, both of Mazanya village in Jibia local council of Katsina State.
The three females were: Hauwa’u Lawali,13; Khadija Rabe, 13 and Sumayya Rabe, 10, all of Karamne village in Madarumfa region of Niger Republic.
Narrating their ordeals, the two men said they were kidnapped while working on their farms while the girls said they were hawking onions in Gurbi, which is a neighbouring town in Zamfara State, when the bandits whisked them away.
According to Rufa’i, they spent five days in captivity, adding that the bandits had started demanding for N10m ransom from his family when the military aircraft suddenly stroke followed by “gound soldiers”.
All of them attested that the operation had caused serious damages to the bandits and their camps, claiming to have stepped over several of their corpses in a struggle to get out of the forest.